Project Resources

Contents

1. Faculty Eligibility
2. Student Eligibility
3. Developing a Project Proposal
4. ROP Course Pre-requisites and Exclusions
5. Recommended Hours Per Week
6. Contract Information
7. Submitting a Grade
8. Ethics & Safety
9. Online Support
10. ROPAPP Tutorial Videos
11. FAQs and Helpful Tips

1. Faculty Eligibility

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2. Student Eligibility

All registered University of Toronto undergraduate students in a degree program are eligible to apply to the ROP. However, priority will be given to UTM students.

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3. Developing a Project Proposal

ROP Contract & Grading Scheme

When approving student applications for the ROP (using the ROPAPP), faculty will be asked to complete the ROP contract at the same time. The details to be included are:

Journal: It is encouraged that students keep a journal* to record meetings, progress of their work, what was learned in the project, and the nature of the research in general. This will provide faculty with an ongoing record of the students' progress in the project and aid in evaluation at the end of the project.

Hours Per Week Required: This is based on your initial discussion with the student (i.e. interview) about their interest in the project and how many hours per week they can dedicate i.e. 8-10, 15-20.

Means of Evaluation: This is where you are to include a grading scheme for the student and various means for evaluation. For more information on Grading Practices visit the UofT Grading Practices Policy or you can find information in the UTM Academic Handbook.

Terms of Project: This is where you include information about how the project will proceed, what is required of the students, what they can expect, what you expect, etc. You can be as detailed as you like in this section.

This is the formal agreement between yourself, the student and the Chair. It is important that the contract details be adhered to and should there be any changes it is important to contact one of the Experiential Learning Officers in the Experiential Education Unit listed on the ROP homepage.

*A journal may be optional for 499 and 499 projects; however, some form of record keeping as assessment is required in order to adequately provide the student with mid-term and final evaluation. For examples of different types of reflection practices (if looking for something other than journaling), please visit the EEU website.

What to Prepare for your ROP Project Proposal Submission

In order to prepare for your ROP Project Proposal submission through the ROPAPP the following information will be requested as part of your project submission:

ROP Supervisor Details: This includes your contact information that was not pre-populated.

Is there a Co-Supervisor for the project?: If you select yes, you will be asked to include the contact information for the co-supervisor in the fields provided. This person must meet the faculty eligibility requirements stated above. You have the option to select whether this person will be receiving all email correspondence through the system, which includes all applications and transactions in the ROPAPP.

Program: Select your program in the drop-down menu.

Courses: Select from the drop-down menu which of the approved Departmental ROP course offerings you wish to create this project for (i.e. 299/399/499 H/Y courses).

Select Session: Select from the drop-down menu the session in which you wish to create this project (i.e. Summer, Fall, Winter or year-long).

Number of Student Places Available: Indicate in this field how many student places are available for this particular ROP course offering. This can be as many students as you feel is appropriate to conduct the project. It is important to give each student a robust experience and, therefore, not recommended to take on more than five (5) students for any single project. 

Title of Research Project: Indicate the title of this particular ROP offering. NOTE: this will appear on the student transcript.

Objectives and Methodology: Indicate the objectives for your ROP course offering and the methodology that will be used. Be as detailed as possible.

Description of Student Participation: Indicate how the successful student applicant(s) will be participating in your ROP course offering and what will be expected of them. Be as detailed as possible.

List of Skills Required/Instructor Preference & Student Experience: List any skills or experience you would like to see in your student candidate. As well, you can indicate what your preference in a candidate should be. NOTE: GPA is not a requirement for participation in the program and students are asked to review each Department’s prerequisites before submitting their application. Visit the ROP Course Prerequisites section for more information.

IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND:

1. If you have more than one course offering you will need to complete this information for each submission. 
2. If you are creating a single ROP course for multiple year levels (i.e. ABC299Y & ABC399Y), you will need to amend the description of student participation as well as the student experience section to match the level and experience of the candidates for that particular year level.
3. When providing your course details through the ROPAPP it is important to keep in mind that when you select “Submit Proposal” at the bottom of the form that the information is sent to your Chair for approval. Once opened by your Chair you cannot make amendments to your proposal. Please ensure that you have submitted a complete proposal prior to selecting “Submit Proposal”.
4. If you have submitted a project in the past and would like to obtain what was submitted please contact the ROP Coordinator.

Student Selection

When the ROPAPP opens to student applications we are not able to restrict which applications are sent, even if a student inadvertently sends an application to a project for which they are not eligible. Students are responsible for their applications and where they are sent.

Additionally, we cannot determine from year to year which projects will receive significant applications or none at all. You are most welcome to promote your ROP projects in your classes or through your Department. We in the EEU announce broadly to the campus that the application process is open.

Part of the process is to review and provide decision on ALL applications. This assists us in the EEU in determining who has been selected and also informs the students of the decision on their application. You will be required to provide a comment as to why a student was not selected, this can be as detailed or as simple as you like. 

Should a student submit multiple applications and select an invitation to participate, all remaining applications in that session will be removed. This is due to students only being able to register in one ROP course per session (i.e. 1 in Summer, 1 in Fall, 1 in Winter or 1 in Fall/Winter).

The student application deadline is selected in combination with the course enrolment dates set by the Office of the Registrar. This is to allow the EEU an opportunity to compile and provide the Office of the Registrar with the list of selected students to participate in ROP projects in time for the course registration dates. Faculty who have Summer, Fall, Winter and year-long ROP projects have separate deadlines by which to select their students based on the dates set. Please view the ROP Timetable for more information.

When the ROPAPP is open to student applications it is advisable that faculty do not begin the selection process until the student application deadline has passed. This is to allow students to submit applications up to and on the deadline date, and to be considered for participation in the ROP project.

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4. ROP Course Pre-requisites and Exclusions

For more information on ROP course pre-requisites and exclusions, please visit the link here.

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5. Recommended Hours

The hours per week are negotiable between the student and supervisor as some students may have a lighter course load throughout the semester/year, etc. The time commitment should be agreed upon (and preferably in writing) prior to the student beginning work on the project. Should this time commitment need to change, discussion and agreement should happen between the student and supervisor and be put into writing.

Breakdown of minimum time commitments:

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Total hours per week are not to exceed 35.

The minimum time commitment can be altered based on the requirements of the project and the work/course load of the student, but should not drop significantly below the recommended minimum. Further discussion and approval should be discussed with the Department/Institute Chair/Director should the time commitment fall below the recommended minimum.

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6. Contract Information

Students are asked to sign a contract with their supervising instructor prior to the start of the project through the ROPAPP. Students admitted to the Research Opportunity Program must fulfill all requirements prior to starting the project. 

The purpose of the ROP contract is to clarify the responsibilities of the supervisor, assisting team (TA/RA, etc.), and student for the duration of the project.

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7. Submitting a Grade

Final grades for the ROP should be entered as numeric. Final grades are to be submitted using the Office of the Registrar’s e-Marks online tool found under Faculty/Staff Apps during the designated times as outlined by the Office of the Registrar. For courses without a final exam, marks are to be submitted five days following the end of the Study Break.

The Research Opportunity Program is not responsible for the submission of final ROP grades, nor are we responsible for any issues relating to the reporting of final grades or the operations of the e-Marks tool.

Should you experience difficulty in submitting your final ROP grades through the e-Marks tool please contact your Undergraduate Advisor/Counsellor and/or the Office of the Registrar for guidance and information.

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8. Ethics & Safety

Risk Management

Under the University’s Health and Safety Policy as well as the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the supervisor is responsible and accountable for the health and safety of all workers under their direction and the workplaces under their charge. The supervisor is responsible for advising individuals under their direction about the existence of potential or actual workplace hazards and to ensure the individuals are trained and will work safely.

It is advised that all ROP supervisors conduct a risk assessment of any actual or potential hazards that the students may be exposed to. After the hazards have been identified, the students need to be properly trained on the appropriate work practices, procedures, what to do in case of an emergency, the use of any personal protective equipment, etc. This training should always be documented and kept on file.

If it is deemed by the supervisor that it is not hazardous to leave students unattended/unsupervised based on the risk assessment, and the students have been properly trained on what to do in case of an emergency and all other relevant procedures, the supervisor may not warrant supervision on a day-to-day basis.

For students working in a lab where there are chemicals, sharp objects, open flames, specialized equipment, etc. the appropriate training and supervision is required due to the increased risk that those hazards pose in this type of laboratory environment. A risk assessment and training is required.

For students working under a “dry” lab setting, if the work involves the use of a computer and/or standardized office supplies (similar to a general office setting) which has a very low risk in terms of hazard, the need for direct supervision is low. However, it is important to consider the type of work that will be performed and if there will be any changes to the nature of the hazards over time that may need to be addressed through additional training or supervision. A risk assessment and training is required.

Visit the Office of Environmental Health and Safety website for a training matrix for lab and non-lab personnel, listing the training that is required based on the type of activity/hazard individuals are exposed:

• Lab
• Non-lab

Ethics

All student and faculty research activities at UTM that involve the use of human subjects must comply with the Tri-Council Policy Statement for Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS), and must be reviewed by either the Office of Research Ethics (ORE) if conducted by faculty and/or graduate students, or the local Ethics Review Commitee (ERC) if conducted by undergraduate students as a part of course-based activities.

Research involving human subjects includes:

• Obtaining data about a living individual through intervention or interaction with the individual, or the obtaining of private personal information about the individual;
• Secondary use of data that contains identifying information about a living individual, or data linkage through which living individuals may become identifiable; and/or
• Naturalistic observation, except the observation of individuals in contexts in which it can be expected that the participants are seeking public visibility.

The following research-related activities would generally not require ethics review:

• Assessment activities, such as quality assurance studies, performance reviews or testing within normal educational requirements; and/or
• Research involving only the use of published or publicly available information or materials, performances or archival materials.

As required by the Canadian Council on Animal Care and the Ontario Animals for Research Act, all researchers conducting research or teaching projects involving the use of animals must obtain the approval of the University Animal Care Committee (UACC) before commencing the project. At UTM we have a Local Animal Care Committee (LACC) that reviews all animal use protocols and, if approved, recommends them for the approval of the UACC.

• Learn about Faculty & Graduate Research
• Learn about Undergraduate Research

Other Resources

• Environmental Health and Safety
• Face-to-Face Participation Research
• Guidance on Research and Travel During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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9. Online Support

• I&ITS Service Desk
• Information Technology Guide
  for Remote Work
• Remote Work Checklist
• Information Security & Risk Management

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10. ROPAPP Tutorial Videos

11. FAQs and Helpful Tips